The Minister vs Meta: battle over Malaysia’s social media licence heats up

A row has erupted between Meta, one of the world’s largest social media platforms, and the Malaysian government over compliance with a new licensing regime set to come into effect within weeks, after the technology giant warned it may stifle digital innovation in the country. Malaysia says large social media platforms must apply for a regulatory licence by January 1 as it bids to curb rampant online scamming, cyberbullying and the sharing of sexual and paedophilic content. But open internet advocates have warned the plan also risked handing the state too much control over the digital space. Meta’s director of public policy for Southeast Asia, Rafael Frankel, this week gave his company’s fullest rejection of the plan so far saying Malaysia did not “need a licensing regime in order to take online safety seriously”. In the interview with Reuters, Frankel argued the proposal lacked clear guidelines and needed years for social companies to establish, instead of the few months Malaysia had given. He warned that the timeframe also posed a risk to Malaysia’s digital ambitions as the hasty law could “inadvertently cap innovation and digital economic growth”. But Malaysia’s Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil hit back late Thursday, pulling few punches as he accused Meta of “giving more time to scammers and paedophiles”, telling them to “get on with it”. “We received reports from the public on the existence of Facebook groups for paedophiles, some with hundreds of members, some with tens of thousands of members,” the minister said on Thursday, adding that some have been operating for years without being taken down. “Why does Meta want to defend scammers and paedophiles?” Announced in July, the policy mandates that all social media and internet messaging services with at least 8 million registered users in Malaysia must apply for a licence or risk being blocked from the country. That sparked an immediate backlash from Asia Internet Coalition (AIC), a lobby group representing international social media companies. In an open letter to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, the coalition called the move “unworkable”, arguing it would adversely impact innovation by placing an undue burden on businesses. Facebook, TikTok, Telegram and X have been in the cross hairs of Malaysian authorities for months over their allegedly patchy efforts to control the proliferation of scams, cyberbullying and paedophilic content on the internet. Fahmi said Meta had repeatedly given “many excuses” despite his personal engagement with them since January, which included his visit to the social media giant’s regional office in Singapore. “For me, the safety of Malaysians, especially our children and families, cannot be compromised,” he said. His retort was welcomed by Malaysians online, with many saying that it was necessary to take a tough line with the internet awash with dangerous content. “All [of Meta’s] applications are AI-enabled, and they still need more time?” one Reedzuan Hashim questioned on X. Malaysian social media users erupted in disgust after the discovery of a private Facebook group “sharing contents of girls in school uniform”, with over 6,000 members which has been operating since 2021. “How could a group like this survive for three years?” asked X user Zareen in a post that was seen by over 1 million people. Another similar group was more brazen, operating publicly with posts from members asking for more “lustful content”. With almost 5,000 members, the names and accounts of its admins and moderators are openly displayed. Analyst Harris Zainul from research group the Institute of Strategic and International Studies, who has been critical of the licensing framework, said the minister “has a point”. “Paedophilia and scams are already considered harmful per the platform’s own content guidelines,” Harris said on X. “Why has enforcement been lax?”

The Minister vs Meta: battle over Malaysia’s social media licence heats up

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Communications chief Fahmi Fadzil accuses technology giant of ‘giving more time to scammers and paedophiles’

Communications chief Fahmi Fadzil accuses technology giant of ‘giving more time to scammers and paedophiles’